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How Many Times A Day Should Cats Be Fed

Hi I was just wondering how man times a day should a cat be fed. I've always given the cats canned food only in the morning and left dry food for them to nibble on during the day. When they were kittens, I would feed them canned food two and three times a day but now they are grown. I tried to cut them down to once a day but they always seem so hungry. I feel like I'm underfeeding them, especially Cody; I don't know whether I should go back to twice a day or just let them get used to only canned food in the morning. I've had many cats and this group seems to be the only ones who are always looking for more food during the day.

It really depends on the cat. I leave a bowl of food outside for the outside kitty and bowl inside for Catillac. I leave them full of food all day long. Then again, all I feed is dry. Perhaps the food your feeding isn't filling them up? For instance, Ol'Roy (the wal-mart brand) is corn based. It goes in and out without filling the pet up. Perhaps you need to buy a better, more filling, food?

Lexi I think I would gauge it by their weight. If they are at a good weight with the wet in morning and dry for remainder of the day then I would stick with that because inside cats do tend to overeat & have more problems then those that get out once in a while. So if the vet feels they are at a good weight I would do whatever it takes to maintain that weight. I think that like we humans do at times - our furkids also eat out of boredom.

ATTITUDE! Life is 10% what happens to one and 90% how one reacts to it!

Every cat is different, but I tend to feed twice a day (with a small, healthy snack between,) which is closer to what cats do in the wild than free-feeding where they can nibble all day long. Free-feeding is also more likely to lead to obesity -- partly due to how a cat metabolizes food, and partly because the temptation to snack is always there.

Thanks alot for the input. i felt so silly writing this because I've had cats for many many years. All of the cats before this had been okay with one wet meal a day plus a large supply of dry food. This group is something else. I don't think these cats eat out of boredom though Dlaura because they have more toys than Wal-Mart and I purchased a four story kitty condo for them. Plus the fact that I have 9 cats and they always have someone to play with. But your advice is always great. I'm going to keep them on one wet meal a day because none of my cats are underweight and I don't want them to get too much bigger.

Lexi as I wrote about possibly boredom I did recall how "spoiled" your babies are in that they have plenty of toys. However any cat I've ever had has always seemed to outgrow toys as she grew to adulthood. Even to the point of outgrowing playing with other pets. Also wanted to add that fact for others who may be having a similar problem. Thank you so much for your nice compliment!

My 15 year old kitty has dry food pretty much all day (except for when our golden emptys the bowl) and gets a small amount of wet food each time she asks. At her age she has trouble with being on the thin side so I worry about that. If we leave wet food down and she isn't hungry at the time she will leave it and later it is not acceptable to her as it is now dried out. Hubby can't stand the smell of the wet food being out - so we are continually putting out a tablespoon or so for her whenever she asks. Yes she is spoiled!

ATTITUDE! Life is 10% what happens to one and 90% how one reacts to it!

All three of my cats are on different diets. That always seems to be the way here, so I have been the dreaded Cat Food Police for many years. I've never free fed, It seems I have always had at least one cat that will eat anything left out, and one or two others who don't like a lot at once.

I have one senior lady with CRF who eats nine or ten meals a day. She only weighs five pounds but she only eats less than a tablespoon of food at a time. She never asks for food either, I have to offer it to her to make her eat. I have another cat who is very finicky and a lot of times sticks his nose up at something but comes back for it later. He has a seizure disorder and runs on the very thin side so I'm always hoping he will eat. But I can't leave his food down because my youngest, who has Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease eats special food, one, and even if she wasn't on prescription food she would eat the WORRLD if I let her.

So she gets four small meals a day, two in the morning, two in the evening, and "treats (her own kibble tossed accross the floor for her to chase) for snack time.

Another benefit to feeding small meals (if you have the time and patience to do it!) is I add water to every dish of food I put down, so the more small meals they eat the more water they get.

But what works for one doesn't work for all, so whatever works best and keeps them at a healthy weight is what you do.

Okay Dlaura I found your PM. You can ignore the message I sent to you. Well my oldest cat is about 12 years old and you're right. He really doesn't play too much, he sleeps most of the day He likes my youngest kitten and when he gets in the mood, he plays with her. He doesn't play with toys except for drinking straws. He is good with one meal a day but he has a love for whipped cream so I give him a bowl every night.